The persimmon plant is of Chinese origin, although in the imagination it comes from Japan, another country where it is widely used. Perfectly cultivable also in Italy, it quickly spread in our country, so much so that today it is a characteristic fruit of the autumn orchard.
The cultivation of this tree is very simple and the moment of harvest is full of satisfaction: it is one of the most productive plants in the garden, the branches are loaded to the point of breaking. The persimmon is also very ornamental when it bears fruit: it sheds its leaves and fills with these large bright orange spherical fruits.
As it is a delicate fruit, you have to take it in time and know how to preserve it. When you eat a slightly green persimmon, in addition to its less sweet and juicy taste, you will have the sensation of having your mouth full, with the unpleasant feeling of having your tongue tied. That’s why it’s important to know when persimmons are ripe and to eat them at the right time.
How to choose khaki
The collection period . The persimmon produces its fruits in October, the right time for harvesting is from the middle of the month and throughout November. Depending on the weather and the variety, the harvest can last until December.
Aged in barrels or in boxes. Ripe persimmons can be picked directly from the branches of the plant, but more often they are picked unripe and left to ripen by storing them in boxes. There are varieties that are more suitable for picking from the mature tree because they are less delicate, such as the kaki apple. Taking unripe persimmon is advantageous because it is a delicate fruit and picking it in advance saves a lot of trouble. Here are the adversities that can hit persimmons on the plant:
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birds. Persimmons are very popular with birds who, attracted by the bright orange color of the skin, come to peck at the meat.
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Wind. This plant is very fruitful and the branches are so full of fruit that the wind could break them.
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Rains. When the fruit ripens, its skin is very delicate and heavy rains could damage it.
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Freeze. The autumn period in northern Italy in particular can bring the first cold weather that would ruin the harvest.
- insects The sweetness of ripe persimmon can attract insects such as suzukii drosophila or fruit flies.
Find out when the fruit is ripe
Understand the best time. Even if you want the fruit to ripen in the crate, you should avoid picking it when it is green, it is better to wait until the skin turns completely yellow. At this stage, the persimmon is not yet ripe but well formed, still very difficult to touch. The ripe fruit, on the other hand, usually has a bright orange skin and is soft to the touch, so much so that if you squeeze it too hard, your fingers will be soaked in its sweet pulp.
How to catch it. The fruit must be harvested complete with its union, so it is useful to use shears to cut the stem from the branch. Alternatively, you can twist persimmons, twisting the stem until it snaps. If you just pull the fruit, you risk leaving the calyx attached to the plant.
Storing Persimmons and Allowing Them to Ripen
Storage . Picked persimmons should be packed like fruit boxes, to be stored in a dimly lit, cool and dry place. They should not be placed on top of each other because as they ripen the fruits will become so soft that the weight of the top ones will damage the persimmons below. If possible, keep them away from each other, even if they are far apart, and make sure that the petioles are facing upwards and not facing nearby fruit.
Breeding in crate. Those who harvest unripe persimmons must then ripen them away from the plant. To do this, you can put a few apples in the middle of the persimmon fruits and cover them with a handkerchief. If you have an orchard, you can use cull apples for this operation. Apples release ethylene, which acts as a ripening hormone. In this way, the persimmons ripen within a week.
Large-scale ripening . When metering the addition of apples to crates of immature persimmons, it is possible to choose to let the fruits ripen in a staggered manner, so that they are ready for consumption with staggered availability from November to January.